Patchwork Centre Church Planting

ECM has a team of four families from four different countries, serving the people of the 'Dreesch', a deprived area in the city of Schwerin. Decades of unemployment and poverty have created many social problems and left people without hope. It is also a very atheistic part of Germany. ECM missionaries and the local church are bringing hope into this neighbourhood.

Activities in the districtCooperating with the local FEG Church (Freie evangelical Gemeinde) in the city, the team does a lot of work among children. They also help the elderly and families who are living in social isolation, and work among refugees. The team share their lives with the residents by hosting and coordinating a wide range of meetings and special events. The team wants to plant a church in the near future, especially for the residents of the Dreesch - a church where people from all different backgrounds feel at home.

The team's most ambitious project so far has been the development of the Patchwork Centre:

The Patchwork CentreIn 2013 the team began renovating a disused post office building, along with local residents and friends. The renovation work was completed in spring 2018. The building is used for a range of activities and purposes. This includes a community café, workshop space, music and function rooms. The café and workshop space are managed with the help of local people. The ECM team is offering voluntary work to local residents, which will help them gain professional skiils. They also hope to develop mentoring relationships with each volunteer and to one day offer some paid positions. Some space will be rented out to the 'Kindertafel' - a local project which provides meals for children living in poverty. The team has worked with the 'Kindertafel' for several years.

"We do not want to work for the people but with the people!"

The ECM team sees many opportunities for this project to bring positive and lasting change in their local area. During the renovation work, the local volunteers were encouraged to see the value in their work, and inspired to achieve a lot with limited resources. The work of motivating and equipping people who would otherwise feel useless continues today. The ECM team aims to bring people closer to the gospel through its diverse activities - activities where everyone is welcome, where anyone can participate and where everyone can encounter Jesus at their own pace.

Whilst the Patchwork Centre is now up and running, the team is still looking for:

• People who want to pray for this project and the local district• Churches where ECM could promote to this project• People who want to support the work financially, through one-off or regular giving (click on 'Donate to this Project')

Interested? Email: ellis.koelewijn@ ecmi.org.We hope you will become part of this great project, bringing light into a very atheistic part of the world!